The Best Things In Life Are Freeby Janet Jackson (featuring Luther Vandross)
Songfacts®:
- This Janet Jackson duet borrows the title and little else from the 1925 Brown/DeSylva/Henderson standard. It says more or less the same things as the original but with more of a love angle. >>Suggestion credit:
Alexander Baron - London, England - Luther Vandross sang on this with Jackson, and it also features performances by the group Bell Biv DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant (all former members of New Edition). Michael Bivens and Ron Devoe wrote the song with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who produced the track with lots of New Jack beats.
- This was written for the soundtrack of the 1992 movie Mo' Money.
- This song earned Jackson and Vandross a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, but Boyz II Men won for "End of the Road."
Comments
Be the first to comment...More Songfacts:
AlejandroLady Gaga
The songs on Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster album represent a "fear" of some "monster." "Alejandro" is her "fear of sex" monster.
DiamondsRihanna
Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler wrote "Diamonds" for Rihanna in just 14 minutes.
Don't Mean NothingRichard Marx
Richard Marx' debut single "Don't Mean Nothing" features Joe Walsh on guitar.
TeardropMassive Attack
"Teardrop" by Massive Attack has vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of The Cocteau Twins, who wrote the lyric after learning that Jeff Buckley had died.
Black WaterThe Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers' swampy #1 hit "Black Water" is about the Mississippi River, evoking the rafting adventures Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn.
Do They Know It's Christmas?Band Aid
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band-Aid was the first big group charity single. It was organized by Bob Geldof, who a year later put together "We Are The World" and Live Aid.
Editor's Picks
Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing
The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.
Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews
The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.
Christmas SongsFact or Fiction
Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.
Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews
Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.
Second Wind SongsSong Writing
Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.
Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews
At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.